High school student wanting to become a pharmacist?

I am a junior in high school and am interested in becoming a pharmacist.
I know it takes good levels of math science and so far I have completed geometry, algebra 2 and math analysis. Also, chemistry, physics and biology. I did not pass with great levels but next year I'm planning on taking calculus A/B AP, Chemical AP, and physiology and am going to get a B or a C.
So what I would like to know is am I going in the correct path? If not what should I take?
What type of pharmacists make the most?
And how does the school process work? I am very confused. What do you have to graduate with and in? And when going to pharmacy school do you just need to get a pharmacy degree?
Also, if I want to volunteer or intern as a pharmacist how do I do that?
Sorry for so much questions but my laptop does not work and I can't look through the forum or online as quickly as I'd like.
Thank you.

Like Chancery has said it, "the golden years of pharmacy are over." I could not agree more. I am in the field. More schools are opening up cranking out students. At the same time, the accreditation body requires schools to show more before they can get accreditation. I suspect that some schools will not receive accreditation. Not sure if you have heard the closure of a pharmacy school in Hawaii.

I suggest that you try Student Doctor Network. That forum gears towards students like yourself. If you really believe that pharmacy is your calling then you will do well and you will have a job. But it's not a golden future. Best of luck to you.

I am a sophomore in high school and am interested in becoming a pharmacist.iam 18 years old . i am in sophomore because i just came to america from 5 months so i shoul be in college but as i said that i have special cases.
what I would like to know is am I going in the correct path? If not what should I take?
Thank you.

Basically, 1st step is to go through an undergraduate pre-pharmacy course that is approved by the school you wish to attend to. After completing that you will need to a 4-year doctor of pharmacy program.

meinhighschool in Rancho Cucamonga, California said: Hello, I am also interested in becoming a pharmacist, however, I was wondering if it would help to be a pharmacy technician while I'm going to college for my BS. My school offers a vocational programme that allows you to get your pharmacy tech license/certification in one year and land a job as a tech straight out of high school, but I don't know if this would help or just waste my time. I need answers! Thanks!

As other posters in this thread have said, it is hard to get a great job as a pharmacist and the golden years may be over. If you are already going to college, I would definitely get your BS, that way if becoming a pharmacist does not work out, if it's hard to find a job, or if you decide you don't like it you have something to fall back on. The pharmacy tech certification is only useful in that one area.

If you are set on becoming a pharmacist still after that, it would definitely help to get some experience and a certification in the mean time as a pharmacy tech.

If I had a child in high school wanting to do pharmacy, I wouldn't let them. Please listen to our comments Alicia. I am a pharmacist now in nursing school. There aren't jobs out there and you will have to move away from your family for a job that won't allow you to pay off the massive student debt.

Please listen to us. The schools will give out advertisements about it being a great career. It is being cutback HEAVILY. Ask any chain pharmacist if they are happy, they will tell you no. It has changed and you will be chewed up by the companies.

Please do not do it Alicia. Get an associates in nursing or other allied health field because you can work while finishing your bachelor degree. Also, the loans are forgiven for nurses but they are not forgiven for pharmacists.

Um sorry but i told my parents that i want to be a pharmacist and there very happy for me and i wont be moving away from my parents because we have a collage down in moncton and i live in moncton so yea that what i want to be and i need to know what courses do i have to take

Im Dana and I want to become a pharmacist tech. I'm still in highschool and want to start thinking about this stuff. I've researching some stuff abouta pharmacist tech. I want to know what it feels like doing the things a pharmist tech does. Does it ever get to you that you work with medicine every day? Also is it worth it to be a pharmist tech, not a pharmacist

I am a junior from Mount Pleasant High school and i want to become a pharmacist when i grow up. I am an honor student with A's and B's and i was wondering what classes i should take for my senior year to become a pharmacist and the sat score for doctor of pharmacy

I'm a licensed pharmacist in New York so I can give some advice. High school and SAT scores don't really count at all for application to a pharmacy school specifically, only for admission into college as an undergraduate. If the college you want to go to has a pharmacy school, you can typically enter into a "pre-pharm" program. Again, you just need admission into the college and not the school of pharmacy out of high school. Once in the pre-pharm program, you typically need a certain GPA and to complete a certain set of prerequisites to be accepted into the actual pharmacy school. After searching around, this site does a good job of explaining the whole process:

High school can DEFINITELY help your in future college courses. Since undergraduates are required to take classes like calculus, chemistry and physics, if you take those classes in high school at a high level (such as AP courses), you know much of the material already when you take them again in college. This preparation will likely earn you better grades and boost your GPA to whatever it needs to be.

Honestly, high school classes don't matter all that much in terms of NEEDING to take them to get into a pharmacy school. Your goal really is to get into the college you want to attend and get good grades in your prerequisite classes. High school classes can certainly build a foundation of what you are going to learn in college and help you get better grades. Since the prerequisite classes in college include chemisty and physics, I highly recommend taking some sort of honors or AP version of those classes in high school. The material you will learn in those classes is very similar to chemistry 101/102 and physics 101/102 material in college. With the knowledge gained in high school for those subjects, the college class will be that much easier, hopefully earning you good grades to boost your GPA.

I was actually looking into pharmacy myself but lately I've been researching about the career and whenever I see forums I notice a massive amount of Pharmacists saying there aren't a lot of jobs available. My question is: Is it that bad in California also? If pharmacy is really tight right now, is there a related major or career that may be a better choice?